Ephesians 1 First Reading

First Reading: Enter
As you read this passage of scripture for the first time you are simply “entering in” or familiarizing yourself with what God is saying here. Notice the circumstances, people, places, etc.

What jumped out at me was the following:
– Written by Paul, who is an apostle
– Written to Christians in Ephesus
– All three persons of the Trinity are mentioned: Father, Son and Holy Spirit
– Both Jews and Gentiles are referenced
– The church is described as Christ’s body

One of the things that popped out to me was how Paul addressed the believers in Ephesus as “the saints”. In many of his other letters he calls christians “saints” or in Romans he says they are called to be saints. Maybe not an important detail but when I think of a saint I have this idea of this perfect person, something I am not and I don’t know many people I would think come close to that ideal. However, when I look up the word saint in a bible dictionary I get a clearer picture of what it really means-“to set apart; sanctify; one set apart from the world and consecrated to God; a believer in Christ”. So I still wouldn’t use the word saint to describe myself but I can relate to being a believer in Christ and know that God wants me to be consecrated to Him.